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Dear gentlemen,
Why not organize a boycott of ALL Viacom owned products and services, in
this case? Hey, if they'll bash Catholics, who shall be the next victim?
They have already re-murdered Jesus Christ with their slander and rhetoric
in the name of First Amendment rights. His-story was so twisted in a recent
mini-series that it really was Biblically unrecognizable.
God bless you as you Boycott Viacom.
+Pax Christi,
Richard C. August
----- Original Message -----
From: "Patrick McGrath" <mim@moralityinmedia.org>
To: <mim@moralityinmedia.org>
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2001 9:08 AM
Subject: MIM E-MAIL NEWSLETTER No. 57: Catholic League Boycotts Showtime
> 11 June 2001
>
> TO: Morality in Media E-Mail Newsletter Subscribers
> FROM: Patrick McGrath, Director of Media Relations
> RE: MIM EMNL No. 57: Catholic League Boycotts Showtime for
> Anti-Catholic 'Sister Mary Explains' Film
>
>
> EDITOR'S NOTE:
>
> The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has
> organized a boycott of the Showtime pay cable service. The
> reason: Showtime's decision to produce and air a film
> version of "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You,"
> which the League calls, "one of the most anti-Catholic
> plays ever written."
>
> For more information on the League's boycott, visit the
> League's Web site:
> http://www.catholicleague.org
>
> Or contact them at:
> Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
> 450 Seventh Avenue
> New York, NY 10123
> Phone: 212-371-3191 or 646-319-5027
> Fax: 212-371-3394
>
> PATRICK McGRATH
>
> ***********************************************
>
> CATHOLIC LEAGUE BOYCOTTS 'SHOWTIME' PAY CABLE SERVICE
>
> The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has
> organized a boycott of the pay cable service Showtime to
> protest Showtime's 27 May running of the film "Sister Mary
> Explains It All," a version of "Sister Mary Ignatius
> Explains It All For You," which the League calls "one of
> the most anti-Catholic plays ever written."
>
> In a 29 May press release, the League said it had asked 75
> Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, and Buddhist
> organizations to join it in the boycott. It was being
> called because of the League's "dissatisfaction with Viacom
> CEO Sumner Redstone's refusal to condemn the Catholic
> bashing associated with the Showtime film."
>
> Viacom is the corporate parent of Showtime; Viacom also
> owns the CBS and UPN television networks; MTV,
> Nickelodeon, VH1, BET, Comedy Central, TNN and CMT basic
> cable channels; Paramount Pictures movie studio; Infinity
> radio stations (which carry Howard Stern); TDI outdoor
> advertising; Blockbuster video rental stores; Paramount
> theme parks; and Simon & Schuster book publishers.
>
> League President William Donohue commented, "While no one
> denies Showtime the right to insult Catholics, it is also
> true that the Catholic League will not be denied the right
> to exercise its First Amendment rights in calling for a
> boycott. They asked for this fight, now let's see if they
> can take the heat." (League press release, 29 May)
>
> The League's campaign began 14 May with a full-page ad in
> the weekly version of "Variety," the entertainment trade
> paper, calling on Redstone to condemn "Sister Mary
> Explains..." Written by League president William Donohue,
> the ad noted that "in addition to many bishops, priests,
> nuns, religious and lay Catholics, those who have
> registered their objections [to earlier stage versions of
> the work] include the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai
> B'rith . . . the National Conference of Christians and
> Jews, the American Jewish Committee, the Long Island
> chapter of the American Jewish League and the Interfaith
> Clergy Council of St. Louis."
>
> The ad in "Variety" described "Sister Mary Ignatius . . .":
> "The play features a malicious nun who is confronted by
> four of her former students, all of whom are allegedly
> dysfunctional as a result of their Catholic upbringing. In
> the course of the play, virtually every Catholic teaching
> is mocked. The nuns who taught generations of school
> children are hatefully caricatured and stereotyped. Worst
> of all, the life of Christ is portrayed in the vilest way,
> from the Nativity through the Crucifixion, and Our Blessed
> Mother is viciously depicted. In the end, the nun shoots
> and kills two of her ex-students."
>
> Four days later, Showtime CEO Matt Blank told New York Post
> columnist Cindy Adams, "Listen, I'm Jewish. We're into
> projects that are too political, too religious, too black,
> too gay. We're a home for wayward movies. Marshall
> Brickman, the film's director, told Adams, "Listen, I'm
> Jewish. I reserve the right to satirize any minority."
> (New York Post, 17 May 2001)
>
> Donohue responded: "Well, guys -- Listen, I'm Catholic.
> And I don't believe that anyone can exculpate himself from
> bigotry by citing his racial, ethnic or religious roots. .
> . . We will now ask Sumner Redstone for a second time to
> condemn all the Catholic bashing that is associated with
> this production." (League press release, 17 May 2001)
>
> The following week, Showtime released a statement which
> said, "This does not reflect the opinion of Showtime or
> Viacom. 'Sister Mary Explains It All' is an award-winning
> play that is clearly a satire. Both Showtime and Viacom
> reject intolerance in all its forms." (From League press
> release, 23 May 2001).
>
> League President Donohue responded: "This is not a film
> that has been previously released -- it is a Showtime
> original . . . Moreover, it fails to persuade to say that
> the movie is based on an award-winning play. The racist
> movie 'The Birth of a Nation,' was named by the American
> Film Institute as one of America's 100 greatest films. But
> Showtime would never insult African Americans by airing
> this 'award winning' movie." Donohue then announced the
> Showtime boycott (League press release, 23 May).
>
>
>
>
>
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